Oct. 16, 2007 — Alan Berliner is among the many prominent filmmakers to be featured during this, the second year of the University of Virginia Art Museum’s New Media Gallery. "The Short Films of Alan Berliner" will be shown Nov. 3 through Dec. 23.

Berliner, also featured in this year's Virginia Film Festival, is renowned for his innovation. His works are considered documentaries, but he is known primarily for his experimentation with the "home movie" footage, such as "Family Album" and "Nobody’s Business." He is also respected for his editing skills, which are on full display in the early short films collected for this program, including "Everywhere at Once" from 1985, and "City Edition" from 1980.

The New York Times describes Berliner's work as "powerful, compelling and bittersweet ... full of juicy conflict and contradiction, innovative in their cinematic technique, unpredictable in their structures. ... Alan Berliner illustrates the power of fine art to transform life." He is the recipient of Rockefeller, Guggenheim and Jerome Foundation fellowships, plus three Emmy Awards and a Distinguished Achievement Award from the International Documentary Association in 1993.

The exhibited is curated by Virginia Film Festival Director Richard Herskowitz and made possible with support of Crutchfield and the Virginia Film Festival.

Films by other prominent figures scheduled to be featured in the museum's New Media Gallery this year include "Nightjohn" by Charles Burnett, considered to be America's greatest living black director, and "Carrara" by William Wylie, U.Va. associate professor of photography. The film expands on his extensive work in still photography at the historic marble quarries of Carrara, Italy.

The museum is open to the public without charge Tuesday through Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m.  Parking is available on Bayly Drive, off Rugby Road.